


Hookup Gone Wrong

by chairmancatsby



Series: 12 Days of MaleChristmas [11]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Dating application, Fluff, Humour, Jace is in the book club, M/M, Tinder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 08:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13291413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chairmancatsby/pseuds/chairmancatsby
Summary: Alec was supposed to be finding a date for Jace on Tinder, not one for himself. But a certain someone was too distracting for Alec to stay on task.





	Hookup Gone Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t even know Twitter so I don’t know why I wrote this :’D I did play with it on my friend’s phone a few times though...
> 
> Tweet me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chairmancatsby) if you liked this!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> xoxo  
> Trix

Alec never saw the need for a dating app in his phone before because well, he wasn’t really interested in dating and he wasn’t looking for anyone either. Life was busy as a lawyer, especially since he was from a well-established firm which also happened to be a family-owned company. It wasn’t that he wanted to spend the rest of his life alone but he was content with being single for now.

Initially, he hadn’t wanted to look for a partner because of his sexuality. But he had come out to his family a few years back and they had all been very accepting so he knew that he could freely look for a boyfriend and bring one home (Isabelle would be ecstatic). He had dated once or twice when he was still in university but they all ended fairly quickly because Alec wasn’t really a warm and fuzzy guy and his exes had always felt like he just hadn’t been that interested in the relationship. It wasn’t true, of course. Alec was just bad at expressing himself.

He had a job, a good pay, a nice house, a new car, and he was single. Life was great.

On top of all of that though, Alec was a good brother. So when Jace had called Alec the previous night complaining about Clary and telling him that they had gotten into a huge fight and were going to break-up, Alec had promised his brother to help him find a new girlfriend. He hadn’t meant it obviously but he had to say it to placate Jace. It wasn't like Jace was serious either. The blonde was head-over-heels in love with Clary and this was probably one of their dramatic spats. Seeing Jace and Clary quarrelling was also one of the reasons that made Alec thankful for being single.

That was why Alec found himself at Jace’s apartment, lounging on his brother’s expensive leather couch and looking at a dating app on the other’s phone. Tinder, to be specific.

Just a few hours ago, Jace had a very tiring session of teaching Alec how to use Tinder.

“Just swipe right if you see any pretty redhead girl,” Jace had explained, showing Alec how to do it but upon hearing the word ‘redhead’, Alec had stopped looking at the screen to face his brother instead.

There had been a frown on Alec’s face as he regarded Jace thoughtfully. “Must it be a redhead? I thought you were trying to get over Clary?”

Exasperated, Jace had sighed and put down his phone to fix Alec with a cool stare. “I’m trying to show Clary that there are other redheads in the world.”

“I’m pretty sure Clary knows that,” Alec had pointed out casually with a raised eyebrow at Jace.

“Are you going to help me or what?” Jace had snapped, frustrated.

“Yes, yes. Okay. Gosh, what’s wrong with you?” Alec took Jace’s phone and opened the application before looking at his brother. “Swipe what again?”

And Jace had to teach Alec how to use Tinder all over again.

It wasn’t difficult to use the app, Alec had figured it out after Jace’s first lesson but Alec had also been trying to drag it out as long as possible because he had started to feel regret for agreeing to Jace’s stupid idea. The blonde had wanted him to find _redheaded_ girls on Tinder for him to meet because Alec had agreed to do anything to help his brother and he had assured his brother that he had time on his hands because he had cleared all of his cases. Though Alec had not meant ‘anything’ literally, Jace had certainly took it literally. So Alec had no choice but to help him find red hair girls on Tinder. That didn’t mean he couldn’t waste time before doing it though.

Alas, he hadn’t been able to stall any longer and Jace had dumped his phone with him while the blonde had gone for a photoshoot, trusting Alec with his phone.

“Nope,” Alec said to himself as he swiped another girl left. That one didn’t have red hair. He thought that Jace was being too ridiculous and that his requirements were too…rigid. There weren’t many redhead girls around, unless if you counted dyed hair of course. But Jace had insisted that he wanted a natural redhead in his pompous voice. How the hell was Alec even supposed to know which girl had natural red hair or if it was dyed? He stopped caring after a while.

But Alec hadn’t found himself swiping right very often either because he simply didn’t find most of the girls attractive. It didn’t have anything to do with him being gay because beauty was beauty and he could admit if a girl was pretty. Take Isabelle for example, his sister was drop-dead gorgeous. Still, asking someone straight for help would have been a lot better because random guys pop up sometimes and Alec would get distracted before he remembered that it was Jace’s phone and that Jace was as straight as a line. So swiping a guy right was definitely a no-go. What if the dude actually swiped back and chatted him (Jace) up? The blonde would never trust Alec ever again.

Keeping all that in mind, Alec dutifully went back to his job and swiped every random guy that popped up to the left.

After a while, Alec realised how popular Jace was with the ladies. Everyone red-haired girl whom he had swiped to the right were interested, making lots of messages pop up on Jace’s phone and Alec had half the mind to switch Jace’s profile picture but then that would defeat the point. Clearing all of Jace’s notifications, Alec went to his settings and turned them off. Jace could deal with them later and realise that he wasn’t going to break up with Clary.

This was such a ridiculous thing to do but Alec found himself having fun (he was easily amused, sue him). It had been a while since he wasn’t buried in work anyway so he allowed himself to be entertained by a dating app.

It was all going well – Alec swiping redheads to the right (he had long stopped caring about who was natural and who wasn’t) and everyone else to the left (including guys he found hot, yes). But that was until he landed his eyes on an Asian man with a beautiful tan and a smile so bright it brought a smile onto Alec’s own face.

_Magnus Bane. 29._

So he was two years older than Alec. That wasn’t too bad. In fact, that was perfect. Before Alec knew it, he was swiping Magnus Bane to the right and then checking out his profile page. Why didn’t he install Tinder earlier?

The man was a dancer, meaning he was graceful and elegant and Alec was so fucked. He smiled stupidly at the phone as he continued looking at other pictures of the man. There were beach pictures too and Magnus Bane had a finely sculpted body.

Eager to see if Magnus had swiped him back, he went to see if there were any new notifications and there was. It wasn’t just any new notification, it was a message from Magnus Bane. Even the sound of his name was so royal. Magnus Bane. Magn- Okay, Alec had got to stop repeating the man’s name in his mind.

Happily opening the message, Alec dropped the phone as soon as he saw what was on the screen. It was one simple word but it had a humongous effect.

 _“Jace?”_ the message said.

 _“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,”_ Alec thought as he stood from the couch and nearly tripped when his leg cramped and his knee suddenly gave way. He held the armrest to steady himself as he stared at the phone on the floor.

He didn’t install Tinder onto his phone. This was Jace’s damn phone and he was supposed to be swiping girls with red hair to the right for his brother, not ogle at Magnus Bane. Damn that name.

 _“What do I do? What should I do?”_ Alec was panicking internally. As soon as he felt the cramp gone from his leg, he started to pace in front of the couch while biting his thumb. Not answering would be rude, right? But then Jace wasn’t gay, or bi. Jace didn’t indicate his sexuality on his profile though, so Magnus probably assumed that Jace was either gay or bi now. Great.

Staring at the screen, Alec wondered if Magnus knew that he, or ‘Jace’ was online and was ignoring his message. Magnus didn’t send anything else to chase for a reply and Alec felt slightly happy that the other was a patient man. Just slightly.

After a few seconds, Alec thought _‘screw it’_ because he had already spent hours looking for a girl for Jace and he was pretty sure those who he had swiped had already swiped back and were filling up Jace’s inbox. Besides, Alec didn’t even care about all those notifications. _This_ one from Magnus though, was a different story.

Taking a deep breath, Alec quickly typed out a simple message and sending it before he regretted what he was doing.

_Hi. You look good in your photos._

Alec re-read the line over and over again and the more he read it, the more he felt like burying himself into a hole and never coming out of it ever again. Praising his looks, seriously? How desperate can he sound?

No replies were coming and Alec was starting to feel anxious. He was gripping the phone a little too tightly and he maybe his face was a little too close to the screen.

When a reply finally came and the phone notified Alec about it, he hurriedly read it.

_You look good too (^_-)_

Heart fluttering at the compliment, Alec was about to thank him when he realised that Magnus wasn’t praising him. He was praising Jace because Alec was using Jace’s account. Damn it.

Groaning, Alec shifted so that he was now lying on his stomach with his legs stretched over the armchair of the couch as he drummed his fingers against the back of Jace’s phone.

Considering ignoring Magnus, Alec locked the phone and stared at the blank screen. He unlocked the phone after five seconds and started typing another message to ask about the other’s hobbies. Yes, Alec was striking up a conversation with a random stranger. But that’s what people did on dating apps, right? So he wasn’t entirely failing at this thing.

Hours passed and Alec was still stretched out on the couch, lying on his back now, as he happily chatted with Magnus. Talking to Magnus was fun, really fun. They had a lot of matching interests and Magnus was _funny_. Alec was weak to funny guys.

Too engaged with talking to Magnus, it had completely slipped Alec’s mind that he was using Jace’s Tinder account on Jace’s phone, so Magnus didn’t actually know that he was having a conversation with Jace.

It was only after Alec had agreed to go out on a date with Magnus did he remember that this was Jace’s account and Magnus had been thinking all this time that he was talking to Jace.

Oh crap.

At that moment, the door swung open and Jace walked into the living room, whistling a Christmas tune.

“What’s up?” he asked when he saw Alec’s distraught expression.

“I found you a date,” Alec said calmly as he fiddled with Jace’s phone in his hand, wondering how he should break the news to the blonde that he had agreed to go on a date with a man named Magnus on Jace’s behalf. Though to be fair, Alec had agreed to the date on his own behalf and he had just forgotten that he had been using Jace’s identity to do it.

Eyebrows shooting up in surprise, Jace took a seat next to Alec. “Really?” He took his phone from Alec with some difficulty as the black-haired man wouldn't let go off it. For good reasons, of course. Unlocking his phone, Jace frowned at the screen, as he should. “Who’s Magnus Bane?”

 

 

“Jace, right?” Magnus said with a grin as the blonde and black-haired man approached the table. His eyes flickered to Alec when the pair stopped in front of him and he scanned the hazel-eyed man appreciatively before turning back to Jace with a smile. “I’m Magnus.”

“It’s um,” Jace started, feeling awkward suddenly. “Nice to meet you,” he finished lamely and frowned at himself because he was usually good at blind dates or situations like this. He turned to glare at Alec, who was also the reason why he was even meeting Magnus in the first place.

“And this is…” Magnus trailed off as he motioned towards the tallest in their group with his hand.

“My brother,” Jace quickly replied, holding Alec by the shoulders and pushing him slightly forward, making the other bite on his lower lip nervously. “Alec.”

“Well, Alec, it’s nice to meet you too,” Magnus purred and Alec felt a shiver run down his spine. “But I wasn’t aware that I was going on a date with two guys today,” he directed the question to Jace.

Before Jace could open his mouth, Alec beat him to it. “Let’s take a seat first.”

Without waiting for Magnus to agree, Alec held Jace by the arm and pulled him down on the seat next to the one he sat on.

Amused, Magnus shrugged as he took a seat.

“So, Jace,” Magnus began. “You like to read books?”

Grinning, Jace nodded. “I’m in a book club,” he said proudly as Alec shot him a confused look and Jace promptly shut his mouth, realising that he and Magnus were probably talking about different books.

“What kind of books do you like?” Magnus asked eagerly.

“I’m going to get us some drinks,” Alec announced suddenly and stood up, his chair scraping against the floor. “Is a cappuccino good for you?” Alec asked Magnus and the other nodded gratefully.

“Why don’t you ask me?” Jace frowned at Alec who ignored him and walked towards the counter. Then he turned back to Magnus. “So. What were we talking about?”

 

There was a short queue at the counter that Alec hoped was longer so that he could have more time to think about what to do on this…double date. He glanced at the table and saw Jace and Magnus engaged in conversation. Maybe this could work out after all. But wait, no, what was he thinking? Jace wasn’t even gay and Jace wasn’t even Magnus’ type.

What _was_ Magnus’ type?

A voice in Alec’s head said, “you” and Alec mulled over that thought. It could be true because Magnus had asked ‘Jace’ out on a date from talking to Alec. 

Or maybe, Alec could just wait for Jace to screw this whole meeting up so that Magnus Bane would be gone from their lives forever and Alec could actually install Tinder onto his phone and find a date for himself. Except, Alec didn’t really want Magnus Bane to disappear from his life because as unsure he was about what Magnus’ type of person was, the other was definitely _his_ type.

Turning to the table again, Alec saw Jace and Magnus laughing. What the hell?

 

“I thought you said cappuccino?” Jace stared at the three iced drinks on the tray and Alec groaned as he placed the tray down onto the table.

“Sorry,” he muttered and took one of the cups. Alec had been too surprised seeing Jace and Magnus having fun talking to one another that he had simply pointed to a random item on a menu and told the cashier to “make that three”.

“Iced coffee’s fine,” Magnus spoke up and took one cup, smiling appreciatively at Alec.

The hazel-eyed man melted at Magnus’ smile.

Jace looked between the two, scoffing when he saw Alec’s dreamy eyes before shrugging and taking the last cup before pushing the tray to a one side. Suddenly, the blonde’s phone vibrated.

“I got to go,” Jace said as he frowned at the text message he had just received. “Or my manager’s gonna kill me.” Nodding to himself, he stood up and patted Alec on the shoulder while still looking at his phone. He looked away from it to smile and Magnus. “It was nice meeting you.” Then he turned to Alec. “And have fun, bro.”

Jace’s phone rang before Alec had a chance to say anything and the blonde answered it as he waved Alec goodbye and gave Magnus a final nod before walking away.

Suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious, Alec leaned forward and brought his straw to his mouth as he slowly sucked his iced latte to avoid eye contact with Magnus.

“I was talking to you on Tinder the whole time, wasn’t I?” Magnus said.

Letting the straw drop from his mouth, Alec looked at Magnus in surprise. “How obvious was it? Since we did you find out? I figured that you would notice halfway…”

“From the start,” Magnus admitted gleefully as he smiled at Alec. “Since the moment the both of you walked through the door.”

Frowning, Alec eyed Magnus suspiciously. “That’s a lie, right?”

Laughing heartily, Magnus crinkled his eyes. “How obvious was that?” he teased and Alec rolled his eyes fondly. “Your brother may or may not have mentioned that you were using on his Tinder account and that you were supposed to help him look for red-haired girls to go out on a date with but you got…” Magnus smirked. “ _Distracted._ ”

Alec blushed, embarrassed. He made a mental note to strangle Jace when he saw the model the next time.

“I also realised that the person who had agreed to go out on a date with me wasn’t Jace when he opened his mouth to talk for the first time.”

“What gave it away?” Alec asked curiously, not doubting Magnus’ words.

Shrugging, Magnus leaned back into his seat. “Instincts. Intuition. I don’t know. I’m good at that.”

Alec scoffed and shook his head. “Arrogant.”

“If I was really arrogant, I would tell you that if I were to ask you to meet me here again tomorrow at the same time, you would turn up.”

Licking his lips, Alec leaned forward. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“That depends on your definition of a date,” Magnus replied simply.

“Drinking coffee and talking about books and movies before going out for drinks at night.”

“Then yes, I’m asking you out on a date.”

Screw Tinder. Alec had a date.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos, comments, and love are all appreciated! They mean a lot to me!
> 
> Talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chairmancatsby)!
> 
> xoxo  
> Trix


End file.
